6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125cf2c
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Born to Score? The Relationship between Left-Handedness and Success from the 7-Meter Line
Aron LaxdalAndreas IvarssonSveinn ThorgeirssonTommy Haugensubject
Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)VDP::Medisinske Fag: 700::Helsefag: 800Chemistry (miscellaneous)General Mathematicsasymmetry; handball; laterality; negative frequency-dependent advantage; penalties; throwing armComputer Science (miscellaneous)description
An asymmetry in the prevalence of left-handedness vs. right-handedness in society has supposedly resulted in negative frequency-dependent advantages for left-handers in interactive sports. The aim of this study was to test whether these advantages apply to handball by examining whether being left-handed is beneficial when executing 7 m shots, a highly unimanual movement. All 1,625 7 m shots at the men’s 2016–2022 European championships were analyzed using a Bayesian two-level analysis. While the results did not indicate that left-handers were more likely to score from any single 7 m shot, left-handers were overrepresented among the designated shooters compared to both the population as a whole (38% vs. 11.6%) and left-handers on any given handball team (38% vs. 25%). The implication here was that handedness plays no role in the outcome of 7 m shots at the world-class level, but handedness does appear to play a role in who becomes a world-class 7 m shooter.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-15 |